Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
George Russell admitted that Mercedes’ fears about Ferrari’s potentially strong pace at the Hungarian Grand Prix were realized in Friday’s practice dominated by their world championship rivals.
Mercedes lead the world championship fight with eight wins from 10 races so far but the tight and twisty nature of the Hungerring has suggested in the build-up to the event that Ferrari, winners of the season’s other two grands prix and whose cars are cornering, could be beaten this weekend.
Those expectations at least proved correct on Friday with the Italian team comfortably on top in both practice sessions, including a one-two for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in a more representative second hour of the race.
By contrast, Mercedes finished second practice just fifth and 13th fastest – an unusually-large 0.9 second gap to their main rivals amid a battle of balance at single-lap pace. Lando Norris in a heavily-upgraded McLaren was third and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fourth.
“I think it was a weird day for everybody,” said Russell, who was fifth-fastest.
“Budapest is an amazing track to drive on but they’ve resurfaced half the track, super bumpy, a lot of it breaks in the last couple of corners which makes it quite weird to drive on.
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
George Russell admits Mercedes have work to do after a tough practice in Hungary, with Ferrari looking strong and windy conditions adding to their challenge
“Our single lap (pace) didn’t look very good. The long run looked more competitive but we, I think, seemed to have a potential scare with Ferrari.
“They look very, very strong.”
Championship leader Antonelli, who sat out first practice while the team fulfilled the rookie-driver race requirement with Frédéric Vesti, dropped to 13th after compromising his soft-tyre run due to his own driving errors, including an untimely red flag for Franco Colapinto’s crash and then a major lock-up at turn two.
Russell added: “As a team we have work to do. Ferrari is the best step forward now.”
“I think the car was very good for both Kimi and I, to be honest, and we think there’s room for improvement.
“It was really windy today and I think the wind (direction) is going to change so it can change a lot.”
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Franco Colapinto lost control of his Alpine in the final corner before going into the barriers, prompting a red flag midway through the second practice session.
Ferrari is pleased with the fast start but is wary of a large early advantage
Although they have benefited from some luck, Ferrari’s two race wins have come in the last four races this year. Hungary marked just the second time all season that they finished fastest on a regular Friday.
Leclerc topped the opening session by 0.4s before slotting 0.148s ahead of Hamilton in second practice and said: “It was a relatively strong day.
“From the start I felt pretty good with the car and the performance seemed good straight away. So that’s a good thing but the weekend is still long and from Friday to Saturday we’re seeing teams jump in performance.
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Take a look back at some of the year’s most dramatic moments at the Hungarian Grand Prix
“Usually on Fridays we’re on the back foot so it’s a good thing we have a good Friday, but we still have to stay at it and work hard to get better.
“It’s going to be tight as always (in qualifying). I don’t expect the gap we had today, so we have to perfect everything. But if the feeling is there, I’m sure we’ll do a good job in the third quarter.”
Hamilton added in Ferrari’s end-of-day press release: “Overall it was a difficult day. The conditions were quite challenging, the wind made things a bit tricky and the track felt quite bumpy in places.
“The car felt better in FP2 and we made some good progress between the sessions, although we still need to improve in some areas. We will go through all the data overnight, keep working on the balance and hopefully find some more performance.”
Hungary was the scene of Lewis Hamilton’s last Grand Prix pole position in 2023
In keeping with his drivers, team principal Frédéric Vasseur wasn’t fazed by Friday’s high placings either.
“So far, so good, but it’s not Friday we’re pole, even less that you win the race,” he emphasized.
“It’s good to start the weekend like this but let’s see tomorrow, it will be a different story. I think (third-fastest) Norris didn’t finish the lap… we’ll see tomorrow.”
Ferrari’s speed has nevertheless caught the eye elsewhere.
Red Bull’s Issac Hajjar, who finished sixth fastest, said: “I knew they would go fast on a track like this. At the moment we are waiting for Mercedes to wake up.
“As always I think it’s going to be very close with McLaren. That’s where we are at the moment.”
Oscar Piastre, eighth fastest in a McLaren that did not carry their significant upgrade on Friday, added: “Ferrari looked very quick in both sessions.
“But I think Lando looked especially competitive in that (second) one.
“Mercedes is very difficult to read. So let’s see tomorrow. If we execute a good day it looks like there could be a lot up for grabs.”
Sky Sports F1’s Hungarian GP schedule
Saturday 25 July
9am: F3 sprint
11.15am: Hungarian GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint*
2.15pm: Hungarian GP Qualifying Build-up*
3pm: Hungarian GP Qualifying*
5pm: Ted’s Qualifications Notebook*
Sunday 26th July
7.35am: F3 Feature Race
9.05am: Porsche Supercup
10.20am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Hungarian GP Build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
2pm: Hungarian Grand Prix*
4pm: Hungarian GP Reaction: Checkered Flag*
5pm: Ted’s Notebook*
*Also on Sky Sports main events
Every session is live on Sky Sports F1 in Budapest for the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix. Sunday’s race starts at 2pm. Stream Sky Sports now – no contract, cancel anytime
